CLEVELAND (AP/92.3 The Fan) — The agent for Peyton Hillis says he advised the Browns’ bruising running back to not play recently with strep throat.

In an interview with Tom Withers of the Associated Press, agent Kennard McGuire said Hillis was too sick to play in the September 25th game against Miami.

McGuire was concerned that because Hillis had been weakened he “could have hurt himself and the team.”

McGuire disputes reports Hillis’ absence was connected to him seeking a contract extension from the Browns.

Prior to Sunday’s game with Tennessee, Adam Schefeter of ESPN reported that Hillis’ contract situation influenced his decision not to play vs. Miami and that there were grumblings within the Browns organization suspecting that was why Hillis sat and not because he was too sick to play.

Browns Coach Pat Shurmur said Monday that Hillis was not “punished” for missing the game after receiving 10 carries in a 31-13 loss to the Titans that saw Colt McCoy set franchise records for passing attempts and completions in a single game.

“I think there’s a lot going on with that question or comment, but that’s not the case,” Shurmur said. “He played and he was a contributor (Sunday). I think what’s being talked about is something that happened two weeks ago. In my mind, it’s not an issue and as we move forward I hope it becomes something that we don’t talk about.

“He’s our running back, we handed him the football, we threw it to him and he did a good job.”

Shurmur spent much of his Monday morning press conference addressing the Hillis speculation.

“My understanding was that he was ill and he didn’t play,” Shurmur said. “That’s my understanding and so we moved forward and that’s when Hardesty played a lot. (Sunday), he (Hillis) was healthy and he played and he started and did a good job.”

Shurmur added that Hillis looked sick and that he could clearly tell he was not able to play.

McGuire said Hillis, who rushed for 1,177 yards and 11 touchdowns last season, has been affected by the ongoing contract talks and feels underappreciated.

Hillis has rushed for 197 yards on 53 carries this season in three games.

Shurmur said that the team would never limit Hillis’ role because of an on going contract dispute.

“Absolutely not, absolutely not. I think that’s a non-issue,” Shurmur said. “I think what you look at; you look at the game, you look at how it gets played out and at the end of the game you sit and look at a piece of paper that talks about what happened in the game. Well, the game changes as the score changes and we did some things where the score got stretched out on us, and you naturally now are trying to race yourself back into the game and a lot of times that involves throwing it. I would never think of throwing the ball 61 times. For some folks that might be fun, I would never do that if we’re in a situation where it’s different.”

McGuire said that he has been in “constant contact” with the Browns. He said both sides would like to reach a contract agreement “but are not aligned” on the value of a deal.

Shurmur's explanation makes no sense at all. How can he be "healthy, played, and started" yet he is "clearly looked sick and unable to play" in the same sentence? And an agent getting involved in this is only going to make it worse. More bullshit we don't need.

Watt wrote:Shurmur's explanation makes no sense at all. How can he be "healthy, played, and started" yet he is "clearly looked sick and unable to play" in the same sentence? And an agent getting involved in this is only going to make it worse. More bullshit we don't need.

This is all Shurmur's fault. He failed his first real test as a head coach.

You stand up for your player to all outsiders. You lie for your player if needed. You tell everyone it was your decision to send Hillis home because you and you alone -- with input -- decided he wasn't able to help the team that day. You say Hillis was willing but you felt it would hurt him and the team if he played. When the media follows up, you give them Belichickian answers. Repeat "It's my decision" over and over.

Now, just b/c Shurmur screwed this up doesn't mean he's unfit to be a coach. Hopefully he learns from it and stands up for his players from now on.

As for the idiot fans questioning Hillis just a month or so after praising him with Chuck Norris quotes and salavating over his Madden football game cover ...

GodHatesClevelandSport wrote:This is all Shurmur's fault. He failed his first real test as a head coach.

You stand up for your player to all outsiders. You lie for your player if needed. You tell everyone it was your decision to send Hillis home because you and you alone -- with input -- decided he wasn't able to help the team that day. You say Hillis was willing but you felt it would hurt him and the team if he played.

Good point on that GHCS. Agreed. And maybe another indication that Shurmur is feeling his way through. Like you say, if he learns from the mistake then you forgive the first one. If not, well.....

peeker643 wrote:Good point on that GHCS. Agreed. And maybe another indication that Shurmur is feeling his way through. Like you say, if he learns from the mistake then you forgive the first one. If not, well.....

To much common sense, Brian.

We have enough data on Shurmur after 4 games as a head coach, with a QB that has started 12 NFL games, a new O, a new D and after two draft that have yielded more talent that the previous 11 to know that we are f'd.

Now way Shurmur learns how to be a HC. No way McCoy improves. No way 1 or 2 of the WR amount to something. No way the D will stabilize.

Screw the last 12 games. Hit the reset button now before it's too late!!!!!

GodHatesClevelandSport wrote:This is all Shurmur's fault. He failed his first real test as a head coach.

You stand up for your player to all outsiders. You lie for your player if needed. You tell everyone it was your decision to send Hillis home because you and you alone -- with input -- decided he wasn't able to help the team that day. You say Hillis was willing but you felt it would hurt him and the team if he played. When the media follows up, you give them Belichickian answers. Repeat "It's my decision" over and over.

Now, just b/c Shurmur screwed this up doesn't mean he's unfit to be a coach. Hopefully he learns from it and stands up for his players from now on.

This conclusion seems a bit harsh based on what Shurmur said and the interpretation of it. He said Hillis was too sick to play. It is what it is. I'm not sure how much Shurmer had to stick his neck out to confirm to everyone that Peyton had strep throat and it had nothing to do with a contract. This entire situation was overblown due to the media, and now, Hillis's agent coming out and opening his mouth where it simply did not belong. This is a complete in house issue. Hillis should be dogged just as much if not more than Pat for letting an agent speak of a situation that should have never left the lockerroom IMO.

***EDIT - to be clear, the video footage I saw of Shurmer before and after the Phins game I only recall him saying he was sick. If there is any source citing that Shurmer either avoided the question or retracted/flip-flopped on why Peyton was sent home/benched, my mistake for missing it.

"All Beckett needs to do to cap off this mess is order some fried chicken and beer" – 5/10/12 before Beckett got chased in the 3rd at Fenway.

DrP, I really disagree with alot you're sayin. How much does McCoy really need to improve? Is he terrible? I think no. 40-61 for 351 yards! What that tells me is that he has pretty damn good accuracy. It's only about an average of 6 yards per pass but whose fault is that. Definitely place the blame on that to Shurmur. As far as his int's this year, I chalk that up to a minor Brett Favre complex that he has. He needs to throw the ball away and quit trying to perform miracles when on the run. Our receivers haven't materialized bc of the playcalling, they've done great on this short route BS, but given the chance they're definitely capable of doing some damage. We need these short passes to go to our tight ends who are all good at catching AND RUNNING with the ball. Our defensive backfield is solid LB core needs help. We were entirely capable to win all 4 games to start out this season, but we're lucky that we won the two that we did. We've got the talent, we just need the coaches to coach and the players to play.

As for Hillis, I don't but that he's just deliberately lying.... He was really sick two weeks ago, I get that. If he only got the ball for ten carries because of the score going into the half, then Shurmur needs desperate help. Hillis is our franchise guy, he's there to lead us down the field to score, and he CAN do that. He had 4.6 YPC Sunday, that is solid, and I think with more chances, his avg. would've been much higher. Why the Browns didn't place him at the top of the priority list for contracts this year, well I don't know if even the aforementioned Chuck Norris could answer that one.

»Peyton Hillisthepeytonhillis Peyton Hillisif I could have physically played against the Dolphins I would have. I love this city and hope to retire here.1 minute ago Favorite Retweet Reply»Peyton Hillisthepeytonhillis Peyton HillisI love the fans of Cleveland..the city that gave me a chance. I play hard in every play of every game.

Swerb wrote:Go start a blog if you want to tell the world your incomprehendible ramblings.

Cerebral_DownTime wrote:I have a big arm and can throw the ball pretty damn far...... maybe even over those moutains. The Browns should sign me, i'll let you all in locker room to drink beer. Then we can all go out the parking lot to watch me do motorcycle stunts.

»Peyton Hillisthepeytonhillis Peyton Hillisif I could have physically played against the Dolphins I would have. I love this city and hope to retire here.1 minute ago Favorite Retweet Reply»Peyton Hillisthepeytonhillis Peyton HillisI love the fans of Cleveland..the city that gave me a chance. I play hard in every play of every game.

When did that come out? Today?

Why is it coming out now?

You don't have to explain yourself. You already said your piece. Don't beg.

Sounds fishily like a blatant attempt by agent to follow the Josh Cribbs playbook. Step 1 - Get the public on your side.

If you love it here so much, you and your agent need to do a better job getting a deal done. I'm sure some of the fault is theirs (since no one can say who's "at fault" since we don't know the numbers), but some of it is most assuredly yours too.

But even as the season was playing out I was skeptical of his ability to play at that level in the future. Maybe it's bias due to his size, inability to break off a long run, or honestly ethnicity, but I think there's a pretty good chance his career turns out to be a lot closer to Mike Alstott than the feature back that I'm sure Hillis and his agent are using as a comp in these negotiations.

Cribbs came back at what turned out to be a pretty fair number, all things considered. If they can't work that out with Hillis I'm not opposed to a trade, though I suspect he'll find other teams aren't using Michael Turner as his comparison either.

peeker643 wrote:I'm just not inclined to take all I know about the guy going back to his freshman year at Arkansas and change my opinion in two weeks. I could easily be wrong but that's my thought.

Dude has never been a 'me' guy. Could be changing over $ but I'm not buying in right now.

What do you "know" about this guy? What do we "know" about any of these guys?

Regardless, even if he is who you thought he was, he knows that he will never have a better chance for a big payday and the window on that can close quickly and he is probably encouraged to strike while the iron is hot and told that the Browns' "unwillingness" to give him a big payday is evidence that they "don't respect him".

So, best case scenario, he's guilty of allowing himself to be manipulated by douchebags. Worst case scenario, he is a douchebag.

Frankly, I don't care. He's useful, so I hope they sign him. But there's a reason I own 0 jerseys.

peeker643 wrote:I'm just not inclined to take all I know about the guy going back to his freshman year at Arkansas and change my opinion in two weeks. I could easily be wrong but that's my thought.

Dude has never been a 'me' guy. Could be changing over $ but I'm not buying in right now.

What do you "know" about this guy? What do we "know" about any of these guys?

Regardless, even if he is who you thought he was, he knows that he will never have a better chance for a big payday and the window on that can close quickly and he is probably encouraged to strike while the iron is hot and told that the Browns' "unwillingness" to give him a big payday is evidence that they "don't respect him".

So, best case scenario, he's guilty of allowing himself to be manipulated by douchebags. Worst case scenario, he is a douchebag.

Frankly, I don't care. He's useful, so I hope they sign him. But there's a reason I own 0 jerseys.

'All I know' is a relative term.

I find it funny and amusing that a guy who hasn't been the slightest problem ever, who was by all accounts an excellent teammate at Arkansas, Denver and here and who has never shown anything other than 100% EVER, is now a potential douchebag because of some idiot agent and millions of doctor-fans insinuating he laid down.

All I know is all I have to go on. And that's that he's never been a problem EVER anywhere or any time else.

YMMV

The point is we don't know 'em. That's exactly why going on what he's been and what he's done is all we have.

I guess rbs has been running with "GAH! HILLIS IS GETTING TRADED BY THE DEADLINE! EVERYONE PANIC".

So is Grossi.

I just don't see it happening. Unless some team is offering us a deal that would dwarf the Cowboys trade of Herschel Walker..I don't see it.

Swerb wrote:Go start a blog if you want to tell the world your incomprehendible ramblings.

Cerebral_DownTime wrote:I have a big arm and can throw the ball pretty damn far...... maybe even over those moutains. The Browns should sign me, i'll let you all in locker room to drink beer. Then we can all go out the parking lot to watch me do motorcycle stunts.

I see it as a team who wants to play Holmgren's bastardation of the WCO (the original WCO had Jim Brown running out of the backfield, that mess Sunday was as far from that as you can get), who looks at Hillis' running style (straight up and run over everyone) as something that leads to short careers, and he won't be effective when the rest of the team is ready to challenge in 4-5 years.

vs.

The agent who looks at Payton's numbers, and wants Chris Johnson numbers, bolstered by the Madden cover and all the adoration he gets from the Cleveland fans.

Whether they meet in the middle before the fan base implodes, remains to be seen.

Spin wrote:I see it as a team who wants to play Holmgren's bastardation of the WCO (the original WCO had Jim Brown running out of the backfield, that mess Sunday was as far from that as you can get), who looks at Hillis' running style (straight up and run over everyone) as something that leads to short careers, and he won't be effective when the rest of the team is ready to challenge in 4-5 years.

vs.

The agent who looks at Payton's numbers, and wants Chris Johnson numbers, bolstered by the Madden cover and all the adoration he gets from the Cleveland fans.

Whether they meet in the middle before the fan base implodes, remains to be seen.

In a nutshell, yep, agree. Dispute over money and value. And hopefully Hillis's agent understands the style leads to a short shelf-life and the Browns figure out effective is effective and versatile is versatile. He has value here. He has value anywhere.

What it's all worth is what the argument is about.

Still don't understand the 'Pay the Man' for a similar hard charger Cribbs who's a bastard as far as a true position match goes and Hillis, whose style is similar from the RB position. He'll get his deal. Just like Cribbs was always gonna get his with or without the hand-wringing.

I find it funny and amusing that a guy who hasn't been the slightest problem ever, who was by all accounts an excellent teammate at Arkansas, Denver and here and who has never shown anything other than 100% EVER, is now a potential douchebag because of some idiot agent and millions of doctor-fans insinuating he laid down.

All I know is all I have to go on. And that's that he's never been a problem EVER anywhere or any time else.

YMMV

The point is we don't know 'em. That's exactly why going on what he's been and what he's done is all we have.

So what in that history cries out 'douchebag'?

peeker643 wrote:Yet these boards were beside themself with the fucking stupid 'Pay the Man' horseshit with a special teamer and a guy who publicly whined more than Hillis ever has.

Whatever. I will say this organization could fuck up an order for ice water. Whether it's who they sign, when they sign them or how they go about it, just pathetic.

Let us please remember this: I don't know what the Browns have offered. You don't know what the Browns have offered.

I don't know what Hillis is asking. You don't know what Hillis is asking.

Taking sides in this is asinine.

Now, to address the d-baggery... I'm not saying he IS a d-bag. And nothing in his history prior to the Miami game indicated said d-bagginess. Of course, I don't know him at all, he could've been a giant d-bag his whole life for all I know. Some guys are good at putting on a public persona. I kind of doubt he's like that, but I don't know, so I'm not going to the mattresses for his image.

I don't know what happened before the Miami game, but I tend to believe that if you have strep throat and are running a fever, you're not going to be that useful. But with what his agent said and some of the things he's said, I'm finding it harder to swallow that there wasn't at least a little bit of an ulterior motive. But whatever, I don't have a big problem with that b/c I don't know the circumstances.

However, the aforementioned tweets are kind of d-baggy, in my opinion. What prompted him to send those out? They ring false and some kind of ploy. I could be wrong.

And if there's any merit to the asking to be traded, then that's d-bag x 10.

My guess is that he's not a d-bag, but that he's letting a d-bag run his affairs, and, to paraphrase Obi Wan "Who's the greater douchebag - the douchebag, or the douchebag that follows him?"

He/his agent need to shut up and play and work this thing out in private. If they can't, they can walk at the end of the year.

PS - Don't think that my annoyance about this situation rests solely on Hillis' side. But at least the Browns' brass ain't takin' the bitch-fest public.

I find it funny and amusing that a guy who hasn't been the slightest problem ever, who was by all accounts an excellent teammate at Arkansas, Denver and here and who has never shown anything other than 100% EVER, is now a potential douchebag because of some idiot agent and millions of doctor-fans insinuating he laid down.

All I know is all I have to go on. And that's that he's never been a problem EVER anywhere or any time else.

YMMV

The point is we don't know 'em. That's exactly why going on what he's been and what he's done is all we have.

So what in that history cries out 'douchebag'?

peeker643 wrote:Yet these boards were beside themself with the fucking stupid 'Pay the Man' horseshit with a special teamer and a guy who publicly whined more than Hillis ever has.

Whatever. I will say this organization could fuck up an order for ice water. Whether it's who they sign, when they sign them or how they go about it, just pathetic.

Let us please remember this: I don't know what the Browns have offered. You don't know what the Browns have offered.

I don't know what Hillis is asking. You don't know what Hillis is asking.

Taking sides in this is asinine.

Now, to address the d-baggery... I'm not saying he IS a d-bag. And nothing in his history prior to the Miami game indicated said d-bagginess. Of course, I don't know him at all, he could've been a giant d-bag his whole life for all I know. Some guys are good at putting on a public persona. I kind of doubt he's like that, but I don't know, so I'm not going to the mattresses for his image.

I don't know what happened before the Miami game, but I tend to believe that if you have strep throat and are running a fever, you're not going to be that useful. But with what his agent said and some of the things he's said, I'm finding it harder to swallow that there wasn't at least a little bit of an ulterior motive. But whatever, I don't have a big problem with that b/c I don't know the circumstances.

However, the aforementioned tweets are kind of d-baggy, in my opinion. What prompted him to send those out? They ring false and some kind of ploy. I could be wrong.

And if there's any merit to the asking to be traded, then that's d-bag x 10.

My guess is that he's not a d-bag, but that he's letting a d-bag run his affairs, and, to paraphrase Obi Wan "Who's the greater douchebag - the douchebag, or the douchebag that follows him?"

He/his agent need to shut up and play and work this thing out in private. If they can't, they can walk at the end of the year.

PS - Don't think that my annoyance about this situation rests solely on Hillis' side. But at least the Browns' brass ain't takin' the bitch-fest public.

Amen to the last two paragraphs and an 'I hear ya' on the rest. I think the tweets can be construed as genuine if you side w/Hillis on the whole affair. In that regad they don't bother me. But he should muzzle his effing agent.

BTW, another reason that Twitter is the very best/very worst thing ever.

Spin wrote:I see it as a team who wants to play Holmgren's bastardation of the WCO (the original WCO had Jim Brown running out of the backfield, that mess Sunday was as far from that as you can get), who looks at Hillis' running style (straight up and run over everyone) as something that leads to short careers, and he won't be effective when the rest of the team is ready to challenge in 4-5 years.

Actually the original WCO had Essex Johnson and Boobie Clark running out of the backfield, buy why quibble?

The points you make about Hillis and his style of running are very valid. Doesn't mean you don't resign him, but if the length of his career trends toward the mean he won't be around very long.

I don't need to be patient, they're going to be shit forever. - CDT, discussing my favorite NFL team

Strep throat is a contagious illness that is spread from person-to-person. It is usually transmitted by close contact with the saliva or nasal secretions from an infected individual, typically in the form of airborne respiratory droplets. For this reason, it is frequently seen in situations where individuals are in close proximity to each other, as in schools, college campuses, military barracks, day care centers, family households & huddles.

Peeker, do you understand "the pay man" stuff?

Criminals in this town used to believe in things...honor, respect."I heard your dog is sick, so bought you this shovel"

FUDU wrote:Strep throat is a contagious illness that is spread from person-to-person. It is usually transmitted by close contact with the saliva or nasal secretions from an infected individual, typically in the form of airborne respiratory droplets. For this reason, it is frequently seen in situations where individuals are in close proximity to each other, as in schools, college campuses, military barracks, day care centers, family households & huddles.

Peeker, do you understand "the pay man" stuff?

You added 'huddles'. That's just bastardizing an online dictionary definition and I'm not going tolerate it.

We're done here.

Oh.... this all just water under the bridge, no? Not a douchebag move at all....